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Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] vs Enterasys Campus LAN Switches comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Dell PowerConnect Switches ...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
8.2
Number of Reviews
34
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Enterasys Campus LAN Switches
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
LAN Switching (12th)
 

Featured Reviews

LarsEvans - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Technology Officer / Chief Information Security Officer at Lorton Data, Inc.
Reliable and useful for network segmentation
The solution's most valuable feature stands up well. The tool is reliable, and it stands up well. The solution works fine and lasts a long time. I think if you speak about the features that have a flow and you can measure, it is hard to say. I don't spend a lot of my time with the tool, but I know that Dell APEX is the solution's cloud. I would say the VLAN features are important. The VLAN features are really useful because network segmentation is important. I would say the tool is easy to program. I don't know if the tool has any security features that I am aware of other than the fact that the solution is for networking. The VLAN and the ability to segment your networks are easy, which is its security feature.
reviewer1319712 - PeerSpot reviewer
Systems Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Uniquely unified the hardware in a very smart way and led to improved performance
Security features do exist, and they're mostly common with other switches. What makes these switches unique is the ability to see application layers on the switch, but not directly through the switch. There are tools from Extreme Networks that allow visibility of such traffic, which other switches lack. Extreme CloudIQ analytics can analyze all the traffic on Extreme Switches up to layer seven, offering full visibility. However, this tool is necessary for such detailed analytics and might not be compatible with some third-party products. Improvements are always possible. One suggestion from a customer about Universal switches was to merge the two operating systems into one to create a new, unified OS, but that would take a lot of time and might affect stability. Juniper did that with their firmware and faced customer issues. So, creating a new OS is a tough call. From Enterasys Campus Compass, they're doing well, but the Data Center Switches aren't. Data Center switches, like Extreme Switching for data center networks. Those are separate categories from the Campus Switches.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"When the price is competitive the customers tend to choose the cheaper brand and then look at the features. So having a competitive price is a plus."
"There is high reliability since we have used them for close to twenty years and only had possibly one failure."
"We have these switches installed in an environment with hardware from many other vendors, and so far, so good."
"The most valuable feature is its ability to multitask."
"It's much less expensive than Cisco, and yet it has the same functionalities."
"We evaluated numerous options before choosing Dell including Fortinet, HP and Cisco, but really it was this solution that worked given our budget and for installation, it was a good solution in terms of technical support, scalability, availability and a lot of things, and it satisfied our requirements."
"The solution’s technical support is good."
"The most valuable feature of Dell PowerConnect Switches for me is the throughput. I also like that the product has more compatibility with Dell infrastructure, especially with EMC and new generation Dell servers. Dell PowerConnect Switches can also easily integrate with Dell servers, and this is another pro."
"Extreme Networks is the only one that has this kind of universal switch. It simplifies things greatly. Customers no longer have to worry about the price differences between traditional and fabric technology switches, which used to have their own pricing. This has made it easier for us as solution providers to tailor options for our customers with fewer but more suitable choices."
"The performance is good."
"Enterasys Campus LAN Switches is a trustable and powerful solution. The solution has good web management features. You can do whatever you want, like a CLI. The solution is easy to diagnose and manage. I like the Linux-based operating system. If any service crashes, you need to restart the system."
"The performance is good; I am satisfied with this product."
 

Cons

"The configuration should be improved."
"If I were to rate the support for Dell PowerConnect Switches, I'd give a rating of two out of five."
"The solution could provide more integration to focus on targeting the network as a whole rather than a unified environment. It is meant for a built environment, so integration with other third-party vendors will likely be necessary."
"I can't think of what we would want in the next release."
"Their hardware is not reliable, it's faulty."
"I expect it to be a zero-touch or a plug-and-play device. To some extent, it is, but we need to know the architecture, and we need to know what exactly we are doing. It is not so easy to implement. It depends on what exactly we are doing and it is still not a plug-and-play or zero-touch device. In the upcoming version, they can make it zero-touch, where we can just power it on and start using it. They can have some templates for different scenarios, such as when you are using it for the data center or adding it to your existing infrastructure."
"The product needs to improve in terms of reports and backups."
"Scalability, especially with the power connect series is something that you have to take into account before starting the project because any changes to an ongoing project can be difficult."
"The tool's price is high. We need a cost-effective service. It also needs to add wireless controller features like Huawei."
"Security features do exist, and they're mostly common with other switches. What makes these switches unique is the ability to see application layers on the switch, but not directly through the switch. There are tools from Extreme Networks that allow visibility of such traffic, which other switches lack. Extreme CloudIQ analytics can analyze all the traffic on Extreme Switches up to layer seven, offering full visibility. However, this tool is necessary for such detailed analytics and might not be compatible with some third-party products."
"While the support is good, it could be better, and the price could be reduced."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If you want to purchase a new Dell PowerConnect Switch, you will pay up to $1,600, but I bought them used. I bought the four Dell PowerConnect Switches that I used for $1,000."
"On a scale of one to ten, if one means it is a cheap solution, and ten means it is a very expensive tool, I rate the product's price as seven. The tool is a bit pricey."
"Its price is okay. Sometimes, it is lower than a Cisco solution."
"Inexpensive"
"The product has a low price for the features it provides."
"The initial cost was high but since they have lasted for over ten or twenty years they are worth it."
"In my opinion, it is a product that is priced somewhere in the middle, making it a well-priced solution in the middle. It is not a very cheap product."
"This solution is much cheaper than comparable products by Cisco."
"In general, the price could be improved."
"The price itself is good, but the economic crisis is causing them to raise prices occasionally."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
26%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise6
No data available
 

Also Known As

PowerConnect Switches
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Amerijet Holdings Inc., CGD Securities, MavenWire, Tulane University
Americatel Peru
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Extreme Networks and others in LAN Switching. Updated: September 2026.
914,262 professionals have used our research since 2012.